Grain treating and drying apparatus.



PATBNTED MAY 26, 1903. H. J. CALDWELL & J. R. BARR. A GRAIN TREATING ANDDRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13. I902.

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No. 728,859. PATENTED MAY 26, 1903.

H. J. CALDWELL & J. R. BARR. v GRAIN TREATING AND DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 18- 1902.

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-'= NITED STATES Fatented May 26, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY J. OALDVVELL AND JAMES R. BARR, OF EARLPARK, INDIANA.

GRAIN TREATING AND DRYING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 728,859, dated May 26,1903.

Application filed September 18, 1902. Serial No. 123,895. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, HARRY J. CALDWELL and JAMES R. BARR, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Earlpark, in the county of BentonandState of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inGrain Treating and Drying Apparatus, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates particularly to apparatus for employing sulfur orother chemical fumes for the bleaching or other treatment of grains.

The primary object of our invention is to provide means for controllingthe temperature of the fumes at the point where they come in contactwith the grain and to also control the proportion of fumes in the columnof air which is blown through the grain while the same is being treated.

Another object of our invention is to provide means for properlymoistenin g the grain to facilitate the treatment thereof and to providemeans for so controlling the temperature of the moistening fluid as toprevent the undue heating of the grain thereby.

A further object of our invention is to provide grain-treating apparatuswhich may be readily used in connection with a familiar form ofgrain-drying stack, so that the stack may be readily used either forbleaching grain or for drying, cooling, or otherwise treating the same.

These and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, are attained bythedevices illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1is a sectional view of a familiar form of grain-dryingstack providedwith our improved apparatus. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the furnaceand fan. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 looking inthe direction indicated by the arrows. Fig.

. 4 is an enlarged detail of a portion of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of a modification of our device with a part ofthe apparatus broken away, and Fig. 6 is a plan view of Fig. 5.

Like letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figuresof the drawings. Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, Aindicates a vertical stack provided with an exhaust-pipe B and with agrain-inlet pipe 0, opening in the stack at the upper end thereof andprovided with a swinging valve or door D, arranged to be automaticallyopened inwardly by the pressure of grain within the inlet-pipe C.Arranged within the stack are deflecting-shelves E, set in staggeredrelation to each other, so that the grain in falling through the stackwill be deflected alternately from one shelf to the other. Opening intothe stack at a convenient point isa nozzle F, which connects with asteam-pipe G and is also provided with a connection H at a point outsideof the stack for the entrance of a steam-condensing me- (lium. Thisnozzle may be constructed and operated as an injector, if so desired, inwhich event the steam-jet entering through the pipe G will draw waterthrough the connection H and discharge a mixed jet of water and steamthrough the nozzle F. It may be preferred, however, to leave theconnection H open to the atmosphere, in which event the steam-jet willdraw a current of air through the connection H, which air-current willtoa greater or less extent condense and cool the steam, so that a finespray will be discharged through the nozzle F into the stack A. Adjacentto the bottom of the stack are pivoted and counterweighted gates I,while leading from the bottom of the stack is a conveyer J.

The above construction of stack is merely suggestive of one form ofstack with which our improved form of apparatus may be readily used; butthe stack per se does not constitute any part of this application.

Arranged adjacent to the stack is the furnace K, consisting of a closedchamber L and provided with any suitable damper or air-inlet, as M.Opening from this chamber is a passage N, controlled by a valve 0, whichpassageleads into a mixing-chamber P, which is provided with a doubleair-valve consisting of an automatic pivoted valve Q and amanually-operated valve R. Leading from the mixing-chamber is a pipe S,which leads to a fan T, from :which the pipe U communicates with theinterior of the stack A.

With the apparatus so constructed the operation is as follows: Sulfur,for example, is ignited in the combustion-chamber L of the furnace K,and the fan T being set in motion the sulfur fumes are drawn through theopenin g N into the mixing-chamber P where they are mixed with air whichenters through the compound valve Q R, and the combination of air andsulfur fumes is drawn into the fan T and forced by it through the pipe Uinto the stack A, whence the mixture of air and sulfur is drivenupwardly and out at the exhaust B. It will thus be seen that when soconstructed the mixing-chamber and connecting-pipes form a conduitcarrying the fumes from the combustion-chamber into the stack. At thesame time steam is admitted to the pipe G, and a spray is dischargedinto the stack A through the nozzle F. The grain to be bleached orotherwise treated is new ad mitted to the stack A through the feed-pipeC, the valve D opening to admit grain to the stack, but closing wheneverthe pipe C is empty, thereby preventing the entrance of the fumes to thesource of grain supply. With the apparatus so in operation there will bea thin sheet of grain falling through the stack, which grain isthoroughly agitated first by being thrown backward and forward by theshelves E and also by the upward draft of air and sulfur fumes mixed. Athermometer being now inserted in the stack, the temperature of thesulfur fumes may be regulated by adjusting the valves Q and R, wherebythe amountof hot sulfurfumes and of cool air forced into the stack bythe fan may be adjusted to any desired extent, the valve Q automaticallyadjusting the amount of air admitted to the mixing-chamber to anyvariation in the speed of the fan.

With the apparatus so constructed we are enabled, by means of thesteam-valve g within the pipe Gand the valve h within the connection H,to control the temperature of the moistening fluid while still usingsteam-pressure to drive the jet of moistening fluid through the fallinggrain, and at the same time we are enabled to control the temperature ofthe sulfur fumes within the stack A and to thus keep the grain in a coolcondition, whereas with other devices the grain is moistened by livesteam or by vapor at a high temperature, and so is subjected to a highde gree of heat and moisture, necessitating an extensive manipulation ofthe grain after treatment in order both to sufficiently dry and tosufficiently cool the grain for commercial purposes. Indeed, it notinfrequently happens that the grain becomes so heated that it continuesheating during subsequent storage or shipment. With our device, however,we are enabled to first moisten the grain without unduly heating thesame and to then force through the falling column of grain a column ofcomparatively cool and dry air and sulfur fumes mixed, which not onlysufficiently bleach the grain, but also simultaneously dry it to suchan, extent that after the grain has passed through the stack and beenefficiently bleached by our apparatus the grain is in most casessufficiently cooled and dried for allcommercial purposes, while inextreme cases but little further manipulation is needed to bring it tothat condition. We thus effectively bleach or otherwise treat the grain,prevent overheating the same, and discharge the same from the bleachingapparatus in a cool and dry condition.

In Figs. 5 and 6 we have shown a modification of our device in which thefurnace consists of but one chamber L,within which the sulfur is burnedand from which communication is had with the fan by means of the pipe W,air being admitted directly to the pipe W and controlled, as before,'bymeans of the valve Q R and the proportion of fumes being controlled bymeans of the valve 0'.

Obviously other arrangements may be made whereby the temperature of thefumes may be controlled by mixing the fumes with air, so as to preventthe heating ofthe grain by the heated fumes, without departing from thespirit of our invention. So, also, the exact location of the fan is notmaterial to the broad idea of our invention. For instance, the currentfrom the fume-chamber through the exhaust-pipe B might well be entirelyan induced current by connecting the fan with the exhaust-pipe B, or thean might be located and connected in any other convenient manner,whereby the desired fume-laden current shall be caused to pass throughthe stack A in such a manner as to bring the fumes in contact with thefalling grain.

It will be understood that the invention shown, described, and claimedin this application is an improvement upon the apparatus shown in ourcopending application, Serial .No. 121,816, filed September 2, 1902, in

which we have claimed the broad features of our invention whichareherein shown but not claimed.

We claim 1. In a grain-treating apparatus, the combination with meansfor generating fumes, of means for conveying the same to a point ofdelivery, and means interposed in said apparatus between the device forgenerating the fumes and the point of delivery for mixing air with saidfumes in controllable quantities, said means comprising an automaticairvalve and a manually-operated fume-valve, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus'for treating grain, the combination with a closedchamber for the combustion of a chemical, of a stack, a conduit forconveying fumes from said chamber to said stack, and means arrangedbetween said chamber and said stack for admitting air to said conduit,said means comprising an automatic valve and a manually-operated betweensaid chamber and said fan for mixing air with said fumes, substantiallyas described.

4. In an apparatus for treating grain, the combination with acombustion-chamber provided with an air-inlet, of a mixing-chamberarranged to communicate With said combustion chamber, said mixingchamber being also provided with an air-inlet, means for controllingsaid air-inlet, and means for inducing a current through both of saidchambers and out of said mixing-chamber, substantially as described.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a mixingchamber and means for generating fumes, of means for mixing air withsaid fumes in controllable quantitiesin said mixing-chamber,said meanscomprising an automatic valve and a manually-operated valve controllingthe admission of air to said automatic valve, substantially asdescribed.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination with a casing, ofmeans for gencrating fumes and conducting the same with HARRY J.CALDWELL. JAMES R. BARR.

Witnesses:

JAMES BOLDMAN, WM. BOLDMAN.

